Cyberattack on lawyers in China software piracy case

A Shanghai woman sits at a computer to use censored internet in a internet café. China has been scrutinized over serious alleged cyberattacks against a California law firm as well as human rights activists in a claim made by Google. - AFP PHOTO

SAN FRANCISCO: US lawyers are suing China for 2.2 billion dollars in an Internet censoring software piracy case, reports AFP. Attorneys at the California law firm Gipson, Hoffman, & Pancione said that on Monday they began receiving “Trojan emails” crafted to trick them into opening files which were booby-trapped with malicious software code.
“Trojan emails are specially constructed to retrieve data from the target’s computer and often allows the sender to gain access to the target’s computer or to the company’s servers,” the firm stated in a release.
“It has not yet been determined whether any of the attempts were successful.”
The law firm last week filed a lawsuit on behalf of Cybersitter accusing China of using the California company's copyrighted software censorship programs being mandated for computers sold in that country.
The suit contends that markers of the program - known as Green Dam - pirated more than 3,000 lines of computer code from a Cybersitter Internet filtering program marketed to parents interested in limiting where children roam online.
Lenovo and Acer are among the computer makers named as defendants in legal paperwork that claims more than 56 million copies of Green Dam software with pirated code have been distributed.
“Cyberattacks were initiated from within China against Cybersitter itself last June when the Green Dam piracy was first reported in the press,” said the law firm.
While the source of the email “spearphishing” attack aimed at lawyers has yet to be found, it appeared to originate in China, according to the company.
The news came a day after Google vowed to stop bowing to Chinese Internet censors and risk banishment from the lucrative market to protest “highly sophisticated” cyberattacks aimed at Chinese human rights activists.
The recent online assaults at Google, Adobe and dozens of other firms appear to have been part of an ongoing campaign to steal precious source codes and track human rights activists some experts have said.
China-based cyber spies struck the Internet giant and reportedly more than 30 other unidentified firms in an apparent bid for computer source codes, intellectual property, and information about activists around the world.
Tactics included tricking computer users with ruses and ploys referred to as “social engineering.” Cyber spies apparently selectively targeted workers with emails crafted to appear as though they came from bosses or colleagues. Messages included attached files rigged with malicious software.
When bogus messages were opened, computers were infected with hidden programs which could swipe information, seize control of machines, or create “back doors” for unauthorized access to files.
The Internet giant did not specifically accuse the Chinese government of being behind the cyberattacks.
But China is being eyed as the probable culprit due to the sophistication of the attacks, the targets, and the fact the assaults originated in that region. –AFP

Indian Minister slams UN body on glacier research

The IPCC claim that glaciers will vanish by 2035 was not based on an iota of scientific evidence,” said Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. “The IPCC has to do a lot of answering on how it reached the 2035 figure, which created such a scare.” - AP Photo

NEW DELHI: India’s Environment Minister slammed the UN’s top climate experts’ comments claiming its doomsday warning about the Himalayan glaciers was not based on “scientific evidence.”
The controversy focuses on a reference in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) landmark 2007 report that states the chances of Himalayan glaciers “disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high.”
“The IPCC claim that glaciers will vanish by 2035 was not based on an iota of scientific evidence,” said Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. “The IPCC has to do a lot of answering on how it reached the 2035 figure, which created such a scare.”
On Monday, the IPCC's chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, said the panel would review the 2035 figure.
Ramesh said he felt “vindicated” after repeatedly challenging the IPCC's work on glaciers. He believes there is no “conclusive scientific evidence” linking global warming to the melting of glaciers.
In November, Ramesh backed a study by Indian scientists which supported his view, prompting Pachauri to label his support “arrogant.” The Nobel-winning IPCC is already under attack over hacked email exchanges which skeptics say reflected attempts to skew the evidence for global warming, reports AFP
The new dispute has boosted climate skeptics, who have questioned scientific evidence behind global warming in the past and especially after a scandal last month dubbed “climategate.” Emails from scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia, the top centre for climate research, were leaked and seized by skeptics as evidence that experts twisted data in order to dramatise global warming.
Ramesh conceded that “most glaciers are in a poor state,” but said they were receding at different rates and a few were even advancing.

Govt in a fix over oil pricing mechanism

The govt has been finding it difficult to offset more than Rs25bn losses reportedly faced by the refining industry and at the same time provide relief to consumers as desired by the Supreme Court. - File photo

ISLAMABAD: The government is in a fix about revising the oil pricing mechanism for the benefit of consumers as desired by the Supreme Court, because proposals made by independent experts remain short of pulling the refining industry out of heavy losses.

According to sources, a committee of experts on oil pricing constituted by the government on the instructions of the apex court will meet again on Tuesday to examine a formula presented by an ‘independent expert’ and proposals by the refining industry to break a logjam over refining profits and revision of pricing mechanism for oil products.

The Supreme Court had fixed a deadline of Dec 30, 2009, for the committee to remove lacunae in the oil pricing formula, but later de-listed for an indefinite period the hearing of the case scheduled for Dec 31.

The head of the committee, Petroleum Secretary Mahmood Salim Mahmood, is set to retire early next month.

These sources said that Raziuddin, a former chief executive of the Attock Refinery, who had been engaged by the committee of experts to suggest amendments to the oil pricing formula, had presented a sliding scale of $1.5 to $5 per barrel refining fee proportionate to the paid up capital of refineries to ensure viable margins.

Mr Raziuddin was also co-opted by the Justice Bhagwandas Commission when it probed irregularities in the oil pricing system on the instructions of the apex court.

The recommendations, said the sources, were handed over to the refining industry for feedback. The industry rejected the proposals and said they did not provide financial room for profit.

It claimed that even if deregulated products like liquefied petroleum gas, lubes and bitumen were included in calculations, the formula presented by the independent expert would not end the losses.

These sources said that the committee had unanimously clarified at the outset that the formula would be based on efficient refining operations and competitiveness.

The government has been finding it difficult to offset more than Rs25 billion losses reportedly faced by the refining industry over the past four months because of furnace oil production and at the same time provide relief to consumers.

The sources said the refineries produced about 34-40 per cent of furnace oil from crude refining. Since furnace oil is considered a low value-added product, its prices remain less than that of crude oil. The refineries usually earn their profits through difference between the prices of crude oil and diesel which stood at $15-18 per barrel over the past decade under a faulty formula introduced by the former government.

Now the difference between the prices of crude oil and diesel has come down to $3 per barrel.

The refineries have informed the committee that they cannot sustain their operations beyond January and whatever formula the government plans to put in place should ensure that their losses are recovered and future operations become commercially viable.

Under the options proposed by the independent expert, the refineries would have to close down their operations and the government would have to rely on import of all petroleum products, exposing the national exchequer to heavy outflow of foreign exchange and putting burden on the infrastructure that would not be able to sustain transportation of oil products across the country.

The sources said the ministry of finance had told the committee that reduction in petroleum levy or general sales tax could not be considered because of the IMF programme.

The committee had told the ministry that the only way to provide any long-term relief on oil prices was to fix per litre general sales tax on petroleum products instead of the 16 per cent rate and reduction or elimination of the petroleum development levy (PDL). The apex court had termed the levy double taxation.

Cotton production crosses 12mn bales

Besides sporadic use of BT cotton seeds this season, the crop remained free from all diseases and no worth mentioning pest attack was reported from Sindh and the Punjab, said cotton analysts. - File photo

KARACHI: Sustained arrival of phutti from fields of Sindh has enabled the country to harvest over 12 million bales of cotton so far, thereby giving bright prospects of higher production this season.

Official figures disclosed that cotton production up to Jan 15, 2010, stood at 12.239 million bales or 18.74 per cent higher over corresponding period last year when production stood at 10.322 million bales.

As a result of this, the country produced around 1.917 million bales more over the corresponding period last year.

A fabulous increase of cotton production in Sindh during the period under review has brightened prospects for the country to harvest over 13 million bales this season, cotton analysts told Dawn on Monday.

Most encouraging development of this season’s production pattern is that never in the past, sustained arrival of phutti was recorded for such a prolonged period, the analyst said.

As per past pattern, arrival of phutti normally starts to slow down from second half of the month of November, but this season for the first time, there is a sustained arrival, particularly in the province.

According to the figures, Sindh produced 4.123 million bales up to Jan 15, 2010, as against 2.801 million bales during the same period last year, showing an increase of 47.20 per cent.

As a result of higher arrival of phutti, the province has so far produced around 1.322 million bales more over the corresponding period last year.

Despite the fact that phutti arrival in the Punjab also stood higher by 7.92 per cent at 8.116 million bales, but there are indications that the arrival may slow down as compared with the previous fortnight (Dec 15 to 31).

This could also be verified from the fact that during the out-going fortnight the overall phutti arrival stood at 369,165 bales compared to 577,734 bales recorded last fortnight (Dec 15 to 31).

It is even more interesting that the spinners this season purchased cotton at much higher paces, thereby lifting over 2 million bales more at 10.353 million bales than the pervious year when they booked around 8.524 million bales.

Exporters also purchased somewhat higher cotton this season at 765,899 bales compared to 274,665 bales. However, unsold stocks of cotton lying with ginners stood higher at 1787,948 bales as against 1,121,018 bales in the same period last year.

Cotton analysts said that besides sporadic use of BT cotton seeds this season, the crop remained free from all diseases and no worth mentioning pest attack was reported from Sindh and the Punjab.

Feature film on Benazir’s life

“Benazir Bhutto - Destiny” will be about the extraordinary courage of a daughter, a mother and a politician and it will be released in 2012. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: A close friend of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a leading British producer and filmmaker have decided to make a feature film on the life and achievements of Ms Bhutto, Dawn has learnt.

Victoria Schofield and Farah Durrani, in collaboration with Insha Taqi Pauwels of Silverstream Productions, are working on the project.

The film, titled “Benazir Bhutto — Destiny”, would be about the extraordinary courage of a daughter, a mother, a politician and a woman who risked all and paid the ultimate price when she was assassinated in Rawalpindi in December 2007, said a member of the team working on the project.

The team is at present finalising the script after which it will choose the cast. The film is expected to be released around the fifth death anniversary of Ms Bhutto in 2012. Victoria Schofield, a renowned writer and broadcaster on Pakistan and Kashmir, was a close friend and contemporary of Benazir Bhutto at Oxford. Their friendship spanned over 30 years from debates at the Oxford Union to Benazir’s first premiership in 1988.

Victoria Schofield travelled with Ms Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile and was with her when terrorists struck her homecoming rally in Karachi in October 2007.

Farah Durrani is an award-winning documentary-maker who has worked extensively in Pakistan and filmed with Benazir Bhutto over 20 years. Farah was in Larkana in 1988 when Ms Bhutto was asked to form her first government and was the last TV journalist to record her interview before the assassination.

Victoria and Farah say they are delighted to work together. Their close association with Ms Bhutto, they add, gives them a unique insight into her world and her life and makes them a perfect match to take her story to the big screen.

Van Gogh exhibition launches in London

Relatives of Vincent Van Gogh have launched a major exhibition of the artist's work in London.

The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters opens at the Royal Academy of Arts on Saturday.
The exhibition features 35 letters written by Van Gogh, as well as paintings and drawings reflecting themes in the correspondence.
This is the first major exhibition of Van Gogh's work to be held in London since 1968.
Highlights of the exhibition include Self-Portrait As An Artist (1888), The Yellow House (1888), Still-Life: With A Plate Of Onions (1889) and Van Gogh's Chair (1888).
Josien Van Gogh, the great-great-granddaughter of Van Gogh's brother Theo, to whom the artist wrote most of his letters, said it was a very important exhibition.
"To combine the letters with the paintings is wonderful," said Ms Van Gogh, who is also chair of the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation.
"The letters tell us everything about Van Gogh. In his letters he is angry, he is happy, he is sad, he reads a lot. He talks about the weather, things he sees, people he meets, and I think you get to know the person very well."

Art enthusiast John Trew studies the works by Van Gogh

Willem Van Gogh said growing up knowing the artist as a relative was a "very normal" part of their lives.
"I remember very well that when I visited houses of friends they would have reproductions of the Sunflowers on their walls, I would think 'oh, he is a relative of mine'.
"When you get older you get to appreciate it a lot more that he was so special and extraordinary. Sometimes for me it is breathtaking to look at his paintings, and some of the paintings here I have never seen before."
Curator Ann Dumas said: "Van Gogh is obviously extremely famous as a painter but less well known is that he was a talented writer and a prolific letter writer.
"The letters are extremely revealing. He writes in great detail about individual works of art, he often includes sketches of works of art that he had recently completed to give his correspondent, usually his brother Theo, an idea of his latest work.

A letter the artist sent to Australian artist John Peter Russell in 1888

"We discover a very different Van Gogh from the one of popular myth that he was just a crazy artist who cut off his ear and eventually killed himself. Although both of those facts are true, what comes out of the letters is that he was a very thoughtful, very reflective man, very highly educated and a phenomenal reader.
"His letters are full of fascinating reflections about art and life, as well as much more detailed information about how he was teaching himself to be an artist and about how he thought about and made his works of art."

Hopper to divorce his fifth wife

The couple got married in 1996

Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, who is suffering from prostate cancer, has announced he is seeking a divorce from his fifth wife of nearly 14 years.

The star, best known for directing and starring in the film Easy Rider, has a young daughter with Victoria Duffy.
In a statement, the star said: "I wish Victoria the best, but only want to spend these difficult days surrounded by my children and close friends."
Speaking to Reuters, his spokesman said the star "wants peace and quiet".
Alex Hitz said the couple have been "having trouble" but are currently still living together as their home arrangements are being worked out.
The actor filed his petition to divorce Duffy at Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
Hopper, who married Duffy in 1996, cited "irreconcilable differences" for the split and is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the couple's daughter, six-year-old daughter, Galen.
The star, who was diagnosed with cancer in September, has just begun a new round of chemotherapy drugs.
His eldest daughter Marin, said in a statement: "Dennis is brave, and he is fighting a hell of a battle."
Hopper, who received two Oscar nominations for Easy Rider, also starred in Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet.

Folk singer Kate McGarrigle dies of cancer

McGarrigle last performed six weeks ago alongside her children in London

Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle has died of cancer at the age of 63.

The mother of singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright, McGarrigle died at home in Montreal on Monday. She had been battling cancer since summer 2006.
Kate rose to prominence with sister Anna when they recorded together in the 1970s. "Sadly our sweet Kate had to leave us last night," Anna said.
"She departed in a haze of song and love surrounded by family and good friends," she wrote on their website.
"She is irreplaceable and we are broken-hearted. Til we meet again dear sister."
The pair first attracted attention in 1974 when Linda Ronstadt recorded their song Heart Like a Wheel as the title track for one of her albums.
The sisters' first record came out in 1975, titled Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and brought them critical acclaim.

Rufus Wainwright recently cancelled an upcoming tour due to a "family illness"

Other artists who covered the pair's songs included Emmylou Harris, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Judy Collins and Elvis Costello.
"Kate was a folk singer through and through, a bi-lingual Canadian who celebrated her heritage and drew on it for songs that were to become standards on the folk scene," said BBC Radio 2 folk show host Mike Harding.
"It is tragic that she has finally lost her fight with cancer - she was a beautiful and rare human being."
Kate McGarrigle and her sisters - she had another called Jane - grew up in a mountain village in Quebec.
Kate's own songs included The Work Song, Cool River and Lying Song.
She was was once married to fellow folk singer Loudon Wainwright lll and received the Order of Canada in 1994, one of the country's highest honours.
'Warmth and feeling'
BBC Radio 2 host Bob Harris described her music as "very human".
"Through the years, I've played Kate and Anna McGarrigle's music on my programmes and really loved the warmth of their music.
"When she sang in French there was a warmth and a feeling to it that kind of transcended language in some way and communicated anywhere."
McGarrigle made her last public appearance six weeks ago at a concert with Rufus and Martha Wainwright at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The show raised $55,000 (£33,600) for the Kate McGarrigle Fund, which she set up in 2008 to raise awareness of sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage.

EADS Astrium develops space power concept

Europe's biggest space company is seeking partners to fly a demonstration solar power mission in orbit.

EADS Astrium says the satellite system would collect the Sun's energy and transmit it to Earth via an infrared laser, to provide electricity.
Space solar power has been talked about for more than 30 years. However, there have always been question marks over its cost, efficiency and safety.
But Astrium believes the technology is close to proving its maturity.
"Today we are not at an operational stage; it's just a test," said chief executive officer Francois Auque. "In order to implement a solution, of course, we would need to find partnerships and to invest, to develop operational systems," he told BBC News.
Those partnerships could comprise space agencies, the EU or national governments and even power companies, he said.
Space solar power is an attractive concept because it would be clean, inexhaustible, and available 24 hours a day.
The amount of energy falling on photovoltaic cells placed in orbit is considerably greater than the same solar panels positioned on the Earth's surface. In space, the incidence of light is unaffected by clouds, dust or the filtering effects of atmospheric gases.
Critics, though, have always pointed to multiple hurdles - to the cost of launching and assembling large solar stations in orbit, to the losses in efficiency in conversion, and to the safety issues surrounding some wireless transmission methods, particularly those that use microwaves.
Astrium says the latter can be addressed by using infrared lasers which, if misdirected, would not risk "cooking" anyone in their path.
The company has already tested power transmission via laser in its labs, and is now working on improving the efficiencies of the end-to-end system. Robert Laine, Astrium's chief technology officer, acknowledges however that there are still some big challenges to be overcome.
"Today, we will be limited in power by the size of the laser we can build. That's a prime limitation," he said.

Power transmission by laser is being studied in the lab

"On the receive side, the conversion of this infrared energy into electricity - that's something which is progressing very fast and we are working with the University of Surrey [in the UK] to develop converters.
"The principle is to get a very high efficiency of conversion of the infrared [laser light] into electricity. If we achieve 80% then it's a real winner."
Dr Laine said a small demonstration of the technology ought to be ready for launch in the coming decade.
"Like any technology, someone has to demonstrate it first before it can become an operational system," he told BBC News.
"We have reached a point where, in the next five years, we could build something which is in the order of 10-20 kW to transmit useful energy to the ground."

Israelis fined for wedding kiss

Pushkar in Rajasthan is a popular pilgrimage spot

An Israeli couple being married in India have found that you may not kiss the bride - the pair were fined $22 for indecency for their wedding embrace. A court in Rajasthan imposed the fine after Alon Orpaz and Tehila Salev had decided to get married in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Pushkar.
Priests were offended when the couple kissed and hugged during the chanting of religious verses.
The apologetic couple said they were unaware public kissing was banned.

Pilgrimage spot
The couple, who had met in India while travelling separately, paid the 1,000-rupee fine for "committing an act of indecency" to avoid a 10-day jail sentence.
Some of the priests were upset by their actions at the wedding and filed a case claiming Hindu sentiments had been hurt.
SN Garg, president of the Priests and Pilgrimage Society, said: "It is a matter of concern for the priest community. We want the government to ensure that tourists visiting Pushkar must respect Indian culture."
Mr Garg said the couple had now been forgiven after they apologised for their behaviour.
The couple said their public embrace was done according to their own culture and was not intended to be hurtful.
Pushkar, on the banks of Pushkar Lake, is a popular pilgrimage spot for both tourists and Hindus.

Indian judge denounces actor's sex comments

Kushboo's comments created a stir

An Indian actress who supports the right of women to have pre-marital sex has been criticised by one of the country's most senior judges.

Kushboo is being prosecuted in her adopted home state of Tamil Nadu for outraging public decency.
She is trying to have the proceedings against her dropped by appealing to the Supreme Court in Delhi.
But Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan was not sympathetic towards her arguments, saying they were "difficult to accept".
Cultural taboo
"It is difficult to digest her statement," he said. "We cannot accept her contention that she did not commit any offence."
Kushboo, who is now also a prominent TV show host, said in a 2005 interview to a magazine that there was "nothing wrong in women having pre-marital sex, but they should follow all precautionary measures".
She said that it was also "not fair on any educated youth to expect his wife to be a virgin".
The remarks stirred controversy in a conservative country where pre-marital sex is still a cultural taboo.
Some Tamil nationalist political groups accused the actress of making derogatory and obscene remarks against Tamil culture.
Several cases have been filed against her across Tamil Nadu in various courts under different sections of the Indian penal code.
If found guilty, she faces imprisonment or a fine.
Feminists and human rights activists have joined the fray, arguing that the cases against her amount to harassment and are a breach of her right to free speech.
The actress herself has defended her remarks by arguing that she was only expressing a personal opinion in the context of gender equality and the status of women in society.
She said she did not have any intention to offend any community or defame the traditions, customs or culture of the state of Tamil Nadu.
The Supreme Court has now ordered her to produce the complete transcripts of her controversial interview in two weeks' time.

Google postpones China mobiles after censorship row

Journalists based in Beijing say they have been victims of e-mail hacks

Google says it has postponed the launch of two Android based mobile phones in China following a dispute with the government over censorship.

The formal launch was due to take place on Wednesday, a spokesperson said.
The announcement came as the Chinese government said Google and other foreign firms must obey the country's laws and traditions.
Google said last week that it had been targeted in a sophisticated cyber attack thought to originate in China.
The attacks were thought to target the e-mail accounts of human rights activists.
As a result, the company said that it would no longer censor search engine results in China even if it meant it had to shut down operations in the country.
Google had planned to launch two handsets running its Android operating system in cooperation Samsung and Motorola.
"The launch we have been working on with China Unicom has been postponed," said a Google spokesperson.
China Unicom is a network provider in the country.
'Tough stance'
The news comes as foreign journalists based in Beijing claim to be the latest victims of China-based cyber attacks.
According to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China's website (FCCC) emails from their Gmail accounts "were being forwarded to a stranger's address".
"We remind all members that journalists in China have been particular targets of hacker attacks in the last two years. Please be very careful about what links you click on, what e-mail attachments you open, and do run virus checks regularly," it said in a statement.
It also issued a checklist for its 400 members to help them secure their Gmail accounts.
Human rights organisation Reporters Without Borders said it was "deeply disturbed and outraged" by the attacks.
Reporters Without Borders said the compromised e-mail accounts constituted "a serious violation of their privacy, their professional work and their freedom to provide news and information".
"The hackers who targeted foreign journalists based in Beijing were probably trying to get contact details and information about the human rights activists who talk to the international press," it said in a statement.
"We firmly condemn these attacks and we call on the ministry of industry and information technology to provide an explanation," it added.
It also criticised Microsoft for failing to follow Google's tough stance.
Microsoft admitted that its Internet Explorer browser was a weak link in the recent attacks on Google's systems.
As a result, the governments of France and Germany have warned their citizens to switch to a new browser such as Firefox or Google's Chrome.

UN Afghanistan survey points to huge scale of bribery

The UN says corruption is holding back Afghanistan's development

Afghans paid $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in bribes over the past 12 months, or the equivalent of almost one quarter of legitimate GDP, a UN report suggests.

Surveying 7,600 people, it found nearly 60% more concerned about corruption than insecurity or unemployment.
More than half the population had to pay at least one bribe to a public official last year, the report adds.
The findings contrast sharply with a recent BBC survey in which the economy appeared to top Afghan concerns.

It's time... to stop money and trust disappearing down a big black hole Antonio Maria Costa head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime BBC poll reveals optimism How Afghan corruption works

The survey commissioned by the BBC and other broadcasters in December suggested that fewer Afghans (14%) saw corruption as the biggest problem than the economy (34%) and security situation (32%).
According to the UN survey, bribes averaged $160 (£98) in contrast to an average Afghan annual income of $425.
Bribes were most often paid to police, judges and politicians but members of international organisations and NGOs were also seen as corrupt, the survey said.

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said corruption was contributing to drug-trafficking and terrorism in Afghanistan.
The UNODC said its report, Corruption in Afghanistan, was based on interviews with 7,600 people in 12 provincial capitals and more than 1,600 villages around Afghanistan.
The BBC survey, which was also nationwide, was based on a smaller number of people (1,534).
Explicit demands
According to the UN survey, 59% of Afghans said their daily experience of public dishonesty was a bigger concern than insecurity (54%) or unemployment (52%).
In 56% of cases, the request for illicit payment was an explicit demand by the bribe-taker, it said.
In three out of four cases, bribes were paid in cash.
Around one in four Afghans surveyed had to pay at least one bribe to police and local officials during the survey period while between 10 and 20% had to pay bribes either to judges, prosecutors or members of the government.
"The Afghans say that it is impossible to obtain a public service without paying a bribe," said Mr Costa.
"Bribery is a crippling tax on people who are already among the world's poorest," he added.
'Perverse and growing'
Another finding of the survey is that at least one in three Afghans believed that corruption was the norm.
Only 9% of the urban population ever reported an act of corruption to the authorities, the survey said.
There was also a perception among 54% of Afghans that international organisations and NGOs were corrupt and "in the country just to get rich", the survey added.
"This perception risks undermining aid effectiveness and discrediting those trying to help a country desperately in need of assistance," the UNODC said.
Mr Costa noted the emergence of a "new caste of rich and powerful individuals who operate outside the traditional power/tribal structures and bid the cost of favours and loyalty to levels not compatible with the under-developed nature of the country".
"Criminal graft has become similarly monumental, perverse and growing and is having political, economic and even security consequences," he said.
He expressed his concern that the lack of confidence in the Afghan authorities apparent in the survey was making the Taliban's advocacy of "more violent forms of retribution... treacherously appealing".
"It's time to drain the swamp of corruption in Afghanistan, to stop money and trust disappearing down a big black hole," the UNODC chief concludes.
"Corruption is the biggest impediment to improving security, development and governance in Afghanistan."

'Al-Qaeda supporter' faces attempted murder trial in US

Aafia Siddiqui has refused to co-operate with her defence team A Pakistani woman, alleged by US authorities to have links to al-Qaeda, is set to stand trial in New York on attempted murder charges. Aafia Siddiqui, 37, is charged with shooting at FBI agents while being detained in Afghanistan in 2008. Prosecutors say Ms Siddiqui picked up a rifle while she was waiting to be questioned in a police compound in Ghazni and fired towards US agents. Ms Siddiqui, who was shot during the incident, insists she is innocent. Her lawyers dispute the prosecution's version of events and say she never touched a gun. In 2004 the US named her one of its most-wanted al-Qaeda fugitives, but she has never been charged for any specific terror plots. Courtroom outburst She has refused to work with her defence lawyers and argued that she would not get a fair trial if there were Jewish people on the jury. Last week, she was removed from the courtroom by the judge after shouting out: "I had nothing to do with 9/11". In July 2009, a judge ruled that Ms Siddiqui was mentally fit to stand trial. Her lawyers had said that she had suffered from hallucinations during her period in pre-trial detention. Supporters say that she vanished between 2003 and 2008 and that she was held in US-linked detention centres during that time. In 2008, she was initially detained in Afghanistan after being discovered with notes referring to what authorities say was a "mass casualty attack". Science graduate The youngest of three children of a British-trained doctor, Ms Siddiqui went to school in Karachi. She continued her education in the US, graduating with a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she became heavily involved in on-campus Islamic activities. Although her family denies this, Ms Siddiqui is said to have married a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the self-confessed orchestrators of the 2001 attacks on the US.

China jails senior judge for life over corruption

Huang is the most senior judge to have been removed from office in China

A Chinese court has sentenced a former Supreme Court judge to life in prison for taking bribes and other corruption charges, state-run media have reported.

Huang Songyou is the most senior judge to have been convicted in China on such charges, Chinese media have said.
He was convicted of accepting 3.9m yuan($570,000; £348,000) in bribes while he was deputy head of the Supreme Court.
He has been thrown out of the Communist Party and will not be allowed to hold public office again.
Huang was also convicted of embezzling 1.2m yuan in government funds in 1997 when he was president of a lower-level court in the southern province of Guangdong.
Hefty sum
He confessed to the charges after he was removed from his position on the Supreme People's Court in 2008. His property had been confiscated, the official Xinhua news agency said.
"Huang knowingly violated the law by trading power for money and taking a hefty sum of bribes, which has produced a bad impact on society, and should be punished severely," Xinhua quoted the court verdict as saying.
China has launched an anti-corruption drive, targeting top officials - but Huang, 52, is the most senior judicial figure to fall since the Communist Party took power in 1949, a Supreme Court official told Xinhua.
Courts in China are theoretically independent, but are tightly controlled by the Communist Party, correspondents say.

Pope calls for the protection of the human environment

Nairobi, 14 Jan 10

 

L-R: Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka and Archbishop Alain Paul Lebeaupin after the presentation of the message

Pope Benedict XVI, has called for the protection of the human ecology in the interest of future generations.
In his message on the occasion of the World Day of Peace for 2010, Pope Benedict reminded mankind that "Creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works" and its preservation has become essential for the peaceful co-existence of people around the world.
The message was delivered today to the Executive Director, UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, by the Apostolic Nuncio of His Holiness in Kenya and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UN-HABITAT, Archbishop Alain Paul Lebeaupin.
Pope Benedict stressed that the present ecological crisis facing the world should make mankind consider the links between economic development and the understanding of man in his relationship to others and to the cosmos. The Pontiff pointed out, “Prudence would thus dictate a profound, long-term review of our model of development, one which would take into consideration the meaning of the economy and its goals with an eye to correcting its malfunctions and misapplications.”
He stated that humanity is in real need of a profound cultural renewal, new ethics of development that can serve as the solid basis for building a brighter future for all.
Pope Benedict said that the crises that confront the world today require a new lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarity. It should also be a lifestyle that focuses on strategies that are actually working and rejecting those that have failed. Such lifestyle, he stated, must meet the needs and the expectations of the human being who should always be considered as the subject of any kind of development and not the object.
According to the Pope, "We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefited from the work of our contemporaries; for this reason we have obligations towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us, to enlarge the human family. Continuing, he said that “Universal solidarity represents a benefit as well as a duty. This is a responsibility that present generations have towards those of the future, a responsibility that also concerns individual States and the International Community."
Mrs. Tibaijuka thanked Archbishop Lebeaupin for delivering the Pope’s message and noted that the focus of activities of the United Nations has been both the physical and the human environment. She pointed out that the human aspect, especially the built environment, had been neglected for a long time.
The Executive Director assured the Archbishop Lebeaupin that the Pope’s 20-page message would be widely circulated to staff members and to members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of UN-HABITAT. She also called for special prayers for the peace and development of Kibera slum in Nairobi and for the protection of the interests of the urban poor.
The World Day of Peace is held on the 1st of January each year.

Google and UN-HABITAT Partnership to Improve Data Collection

UN-HABITAT and internet giant Google have entered a partnership aimed at improving services offered by the Zanzibar Water Authority.

UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka washes her hands after officially inaugurating a new water point constructed under the partnership between Google and UN-HABITAT in Makadara Location of Zanzibar accompanied by the Zanzibar Minister for Water, Construction, energy and lands Hon. Mansoor Yussuf Himid (extreme right)

The project aims at improving access to information on water coverage, assessing the level of satisfaction by customers and evaluating efficiency in the delivery of services by the authority. The initiative is experimenting with the use of mobile phone networks to report faults in water supply systems and track efficiency in maintenance response through a web-based information system.
Inaugurating the project in Makadara location of Zanzibar last week, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs.  Anna Tibaijuka urged the residents to use the facilities well and ensure they are well maintained. In the first phase of the project, a total of 50 water points have been constructed in schools, hospitals and other public facilities in the western part of Unguja island and will be managed and maintained by local communities.
In many countries throughout the world, inadequate resource allocation for the provision of water services means that a large proportion of the citizens, particularly those living in informal settlements, remain without access to clean water. This situation is worsened by the lack of information. Conventional approaches to monitoring levels of access in the water sector focus on tracking investments rather than assessing the results achieved through these investments. In addition, there is limited feedback from feedback from citizens and communities on the level or services received and on the performance of service providers.
Availability of information on service coverage in a form that is easily understood and accessible can play a key role in improving water governance, and facilitate targeting of investments to  segments of communities with the greatest need. Communities that are empowered by access to information are in a stronger position to demand improved services from utilities and other service providers and can participate in identifying alternative approaches to meeting their water needs.
Current attempts to improve monitoring approaches have been hampered by the lack of reliable information at the local level, resulting in statistics which mask the true picture on the ground .
The partnership between Google and UN-HABITAT will establish citizen-based participatory monitoring techniques to support and empower targeted communities. It has developed new systems for collection of geo-referenced data which is disaggregated by gender and socio-economic group, and supported by information on the health and environmental status of the target groups and project areas. It has also established a system of benchmarking service providers not only to improve service coverage and efficiency, but also to enhance accountability to customers.
Data collection and monitoring is an essential tool in tracking progress towards the achievement of the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals. In addition to helping policy- and decision-makers to improve their performance, accurate data provides communities with better information, consequently empowering them to demand better services. It also provides essential baseline data for advocacy, and helps to identify weaknesses hindering progress in the water sector.